


The Maven and The Dancer

by Diggertron



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe - K/DA (League of Legends), Drinking, F/F, I hereby call this ship Kai'Sona, Implied/Referenced Sex, One Shot, Romance, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 00:21:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18215651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diggertron/pseuds/Diggertron
Summary: The K/DA gang go to a cocktail bar. They discover a beautiful woman playing music and cajole Kaisa into asking her out.





	The Maven and The Dancer

**Author's Note:**

> A quick pre-point: Kaisa didn't have the apostrophe in her name until she went into the Void. I have assumed the Void doesnt exist in the K/DA AU.

The Starchild Cocktail Bar was well known among millionaires and other important people for providing personalised service without selling a list of their clientele to the papers. Even so, Kaisa still shivered as they passed through the threshold of the bar. The last thing she wanted was to be photographed as a drunken mess. Again. Eve pushed the second door open, and the K/DA quartet stepped into the quiet ambience of the bar. It was dimly lit, but not uncomfortably so. A fire crackled in the fireplace, every table had a candle flickering in the middle, and the bar had lights placed underneath the coloured bottles of alcohol, producing a pleasant rainbow effect. A quiet murmur of conversation filled the room, accompanied by the sound of a musical instrument. It sounded like harp but deeper, richer. 

A waiter approached them, armed with some drinks menus. He was dressed formally, black trousers and shirt accompanied by a pale blue waistcoat.

“Good evening ladies, my name’s Stan and I’ll be looking after your fine selves tonight. Table for four?”

“Oh yes,” Eve said, voice dripping with seduction, (though really, when didn’t it?) “We’d like a booth table, preferably away from others.” Stan nodded, and gestured they follow him. He led the four to a quiet table away from the other guests. They sat, Eve and Akali took one side, Kaisa was next to the wall, and Ahri slipped in next to her, taking the menus from Stan. 

“Oooh, it’s a bit fancy pants in here, isn’t it?” Akali laughed as she opened her menu, and her eyes widened in shock, “Holy fuck. How expensive is this place?” Eve laughed regally in response.

“Relax, relax. I’m getting all of the drinks tonight. Tonight is the night to drink and be merry.” Eve declared.

Kaisa opened her own menu and almost gasped in shock. While she could easily cover the bill herself, thanks to the exorbitant royalties Eve had negotiated for the whole of the K/DA crew, there was no doubt that Kaisa would ever be comfortable spending this much money in one night. Having said that, the drinks did sound absolutely incredible. She pursed her lips as she flicked through the options. She finally settled for one of the bar’s specialities, something called the Persica Nebula. Apparently it contained peach liqueur, cola, and the slightest dash of magic. 

Stan came back to take their orders; Eve went for her usual Sex on the Beach, Ahri ordered a Pornstar Martini and  Akali had also opted for a house special, apparently called the Skullfuck.

They all looked expectantly at Kaisa, as if daring her to order something with a funny or explicit name.

“Whew,” Stan whistled, “Going for the fancy stuff right outta the bat. Personally, I recommend it to guests because I can’t get enough of how it just looks absolutely stunning.”

He left, and after a moment, so did Ahri, claiming she wanted to take some selfies at the bar for  Snapchat (the bar had a ‘totally cute filter’). They all knew better though - Ahri had been on the prowl for a couple of weeks now, and tonight was no different.

Kaisa glanced awkwardly at Eve and Akali. The two had been dating for a couple of months now, and while they did a good job of keeping public displays of affection to a minimum, as the drinks came out, so would the blatant horniness. Kaisa was still new to the idea that she was free to date whoever she wanted to. The ghosts of her old job, her old life, had continued to cling to her like a second skin even since she had joined K/DA, and she shuddered, thinking about the soulless void that she had abandoned.

No, Kaisa didn’t have a partner, but she didn't exactly know what she was looking for. The best she had managed was finding the pizza delivery girl cute.

“Now, I’m not being classist,” Eve had said, when Kaisa had confessed what she was thinking of doing. “But dating our  _ pizza girl _ is such a privacy risk that I’m almost offended you spoke to me about it. You know how valuable she is to the paparazzi already? No, we all need to find someone who won’t talk to the papers. It’s so much safer. I get what you mean though.” Eve’s expression had changed, becoming almost predatory. “ She’s hella cute. If anything happened between you two… well, let’s just say it wouldn’t just be you  _ two _ .”

Kaisa looked out across the interior of the cocktail bar. Everyone else seemed to be a couple. There would be no pulling here. As Kaisa’s eyes scanned the room, she finally located the source of the absolutely  _ gorgeous _ ambience.

A tall woman with long blue hair stood- no,  _ floated _ at the far wall of the bar, and she was playing a bizarre instrument that Kaisa had never seen before.

Kaisa’s heart skipped a beat. This woman was somehow even more beautiful than the music she was playing. From what Kaisa could see, she was wearing a long, floaty dress.

Her view of the woman was suddenly blocked by an exposed navel. Kaisa blinked and looked up at Ahri.

“Looking at something in particular, or are you just admiring my beautifully curved waist?” Ahri asked, smiling devilishly.

“Oh, no, I was just gazing into space,” Kaisa replied hastily, “Thinking longingly of my peach cocktail.” Ahri laughed.

“Well I knew you liked a drink but I didn’t realise you were  _ that _ much of a drinker that you can’t function.” Kaisa swatted at her arm affectionately.

“Hey, you know it’s more about the peaches than the alcohol, right?”

“Sometimes I think your thing for peaches is more than just a  _ thing. _ ” Akali piped up.

“Yes,” Eve purred, “Maybe we should go deep into the woods and find a peach fairy for you to marry. It’d be a match made in heaven for you.”

“Mmm yes,” Akali replied. “A peach fairy. Imagine that. Sure she’d have fuzzy hair like a peach, and probably round and cuddly, but what I’d want to know is,” She leaned forward and spoke quietly, as if they’d just conspiring against the government. “Would she taste of peaches? Y’know, down there?”

Kaisa buried her head in her hands out of exasperation, the tips of her ears flushed red.

“Aww look at that,” Ahri said, and Kaisa could tell just from her exaggerated voice that she was putting on the largest fake pout her lips would muster. “Talking about the sex stuff has made her all embarrassed.”

_ Now  _ Kaisa was embarrassed.

She was saved from her torment by Stan, who had brought their drinks. He set Ahri and Eve’s drinks down first, which were tasty looking but aesthetically nothing to write home about, before placing Akali’s ‘Skullfuck’ in front of her. It was an angry red liquid in a glass moulded in the shape of an actual skull, with a hole in the centre of the forehead for drinking out of. In the empty portion of the glass, a blue fire played out on the surface of the cocktail, illuminating the dimly lit table in an eerie glow. The four popstars oohed appreciatively, and then Stan set Kaisa’s drink.

When Kaisa had seen that it was named after a nebula, she was expecting it to be glittery or something, but this was something else entirely. The peach liqueur had been enchanted to emit its own light, and it hung suspended in the centre of the glass of cola, illuminating it from within. The expected glitter was present, and had been frozen within the ice cubes. The ice cubes glittered, suspended in the drink, looking like stars. For all intents and purposes, Kaisa’s drink literally looked like someone had placed a miniature nebula in a glass. 

“Whew,” Akali whistled, “Guess you weren’t messing around Stan, that looks fucking incredible.” Stan bowed.

“I hope you all enjoy, please don’t hesitate to order more from the bar,” he said and then promptly left.

“So.” Akali said, looking at her flaming glass, “How the hell do I get started with this?”

“You have to blow out the fire,” Eve replied, “Pick up the skull, and blow through the hole.” Akali followed the instruction, and snuffed out the fire. She held the glass in front of her, examining the liquid within.

“Alas poor Yorick,” Akali murmured, and put the hole to her lips, taking a hearty gulp. She set the glass tenderly back on the table, as if she was waiting for something. Kaisa picked her menu up and found the Skullfuck. Her eyes widened as she noticed the last ingredient. Juiced Scotch Bonnet. Akali’s expression seemed like it changed in slow motion. First there was fear, and then there was regret.

And then there was pain.

“Ah. Ah. Fuck!” Akali slammed a fist down as she flapped her other hand, as if trying to cool the intense heat through wind power. The sudden loud exclamation and sound surprised the other guests, as well as the girl playing the instrument. Kaisa’s gaze whirled around as she heard the discordant sound of a missed note. For a moment her eyes met with the musician’s. Kaisa felt her heart beat a little faster. She turned back to Akali. Had the musician noticed they’d locked eyes? Had she recognised them as K/DA? Was she judging her table’s loudness?

“Honestly Akali, you are such a fool.” Eve declared as she slid out of the booth, “I’ll get some yoghurt for you and some snacks for the table. Try not to die while I’m gone, you know how I like to watch.”

Kaisa watched Eve leave, using the distraction as an opportunity to steal a glance at the musician again. She was plucking delicately at the strings again, weaving her music masterfully, so elegantly that the hair on the back of Kaisa’s neck pricked up. She slid her gaze up and down the woman’s figure, taking in the sight of her slender legs poking out of her dress, her long blue hair which was flowing like water, her round and full breasts. She hadn’t meant to be a pervert, but she’d only just noticed just how exposed her chest was, and there was a  _ lot _ to expose. It was weird really, the fact that society had placed a certain expectation on women, that you could stand around, as that woman was, with 45% of your breasts exposed, but the moment you exposed even a nanometre of nipple? Banned forever. Kaisa thought back to the first time they had signed a TV contract. Her eyes had boggled at the fact that someone had bothered to write  _ nine entire pages _ on how much flesh she was allowed to expose, and in what circumstance. 

“Kaisa?” Ahri’s voice cut through Kaisa’s reverie. “What’s your drink like? I’m surprised you’ve not downed it already.”

“Wha? Oh, right” Kaisa hastily turned her attention back to her friends. “Well, you know. It looks so pretty, it’s almost a shame to drink it.”

“If you drink it, they’ll just make another one exactly the same,” Ahri said in a voice well suited for kindergarten, “It’s not like this is a rare and unique find.”

“I think Kaisa’s already spotted a rare and unique find.” Eve said, smirking, as she returned with a handful of snacks and a glass of greek yoghurt. Kaisa turned bright red and started chugging her drink, all pretenses of appreciating the appearance gone.

“Oh really? What’s that then?”

“Well, you may have noticed that Kaisa’s been turning more than a single innocent gaze towards our musical friend over there.”

“Huh?” Ahri threw a furtive glance over her shoulder. “Oh  _ fuck _ , she’s hot.”

“Indeed, and you may also have noticed how Kaisa is now rapidly intoxicating herself so as to avoid seeming like she is a part of this conversation.”

“Well,” Akali declared, taking another swig of her Skullfuck, “I say this place is the best you’ve brought us to so far, Eve.” Akali then proceeded to stuff her face with yoghurt.

“Akali dear, you can’t use the yoghurt to avoid all of the spice, that goes against the point of the drink.” Eve said, smirking evilly.

“Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?” Akali challenged, and immediately regretted her decision.

“This.” And with that, Eve rapidly devoured the rest of the yoghurt, save for a single mouthful. 

“Mmmm, that tastes  _ good. _ ” She slid the glass across the table, mere inches out of Akali’s grasp. 

“And don’t think about buying another glass, it costs as much as three cocktails.” Akali could only moan in response. “Maybe that’ll teach you to actually read a list of ingredients and not order cocktails solely based on the fact they have a ‘cool name’. Anyway, it looks like Kaisa’s excuse drink is just about done, and now she’s unable to avoid our conversation.”

Eve was right, and Kaisa had noticed all too late how easily she was drinking her cocktail. She was still blushing deeply, and she set the glass on the table, hoping that the universe would conspire to make something more interesting happen at that moment. It didn’t.

“So, Kaisa,” Ahri said, smirking, “Got the hots for players of,” she cast a quick glance at the other end of the room, “whatever that thing is. Gonna see if she’s dtf?”

“Uh, no?” Kaisa said, aghast. “First of all, I don’t know if she’s into girls like me. Secondly, I’m not out to get laid. Thirdly, isn’t it incredibly seedy to go to a restaurant and ask out the staff?”

“She’s got a point, you know,” Akali piped up. Kaisa mouthed ‘ _ thank you _ ’ at her appreciatively. “It is  _ incredibly _ hard to figure out if someone’s gay or not, even if they’re talking about their ‘girlfriend’,” Akali made air quotes around the word. Kaisa resolved to stick googly eyes on Akali’s posters.

“Look,” Eve said, “Why don’t you just go over to her and speak to her like a normal person? Just start by saying you really like her music- that’s true enough, it’s wonderful, and then see where it goes from there. Maybe see if you two can go to a café because you’re fascinated by her instrument. She’ll recognise the obvious but innocent attempt at asking her out, and then respond accordingly. There’s nothing seedy about wanting a conversation, and as long as you’re not using your fame to coerce her into anything, you’re not doing anything wrong.”

Kaisa shook her head.

“No. Not yet at least. We came here to hang out together. It’s been a while since we could all come out like this, and I wanna enjoy the evening.”

Snorting, Ahri lay a hand on Kaisa’s shoulder. “Girl. Do whatever makes you happy - we’ll still be able to enjoy the evening without you,” she winked.

Kaisa took a deep breath. On the one hand, the thought of doing this was terrifying, on the other, a part of her desperately keen on getting a closer look of the musician and her instrument.  

“Okay,” she said finally, “I’ll do it, but I want another drink on the table when I get back.”

Eve smirked, a sense of smug victory surrounding her. “Deal.”

Ahri scooted out of the booth to let Kaisa out as Kaisa slid along the seat. Kaisa took another breath to steel herself, before walking across the room towards the musician, mentally rehearsing her part of the conversation. She felt like she was in a tunnel that was getting longer with every step she took, she could feel the six eyes of the other members of K/DA boring a hole into the back of her head, and she prayed that no one else was taking note of her. All too soon, she was four feet away from the woman.

She was astoundingly beautiful from up close. Kaisa nervously cleared her throat, and the woman turned to face her, rotating on the spot as if she were stood on an invisible platform.

Clearing her throat nervously, Kaisa tried to smile at her. “Um, hi? I love your music so much.” 

The woman’s cherry red lips broke into a grin, revealing a row of perfect teeth. She did not stop playing, not even missing a beat. Flustered, Kaisa tried again.

“That instrument of yours, I’ve never seen one like it. What’s it called?”

A moment passed, and there was no response. The woman just stood there, smiling politely. Kaisa’s mind was reeling, she hadn’t expected a non-response.  _ Fuck _ . “I, um, I think you’re very beaut _ i _ ful,” Kaisa cringed internally, her voice had just cracked, “and, um, oh never mind. Sorry!” 

Kaisa turned and half walked, half ran to the bathroom. 

Slowing only very briefly to make sure she had walked into the correct room, she whirled into a cubicle, not even noticing how extravagantly the bathroom had been decorated. She perched on the edge of the toilet lid, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. That had  _ not _ gone well. The whole process of asking people out still terrified her, it was alright for the other band members, they’d all had extensive experience in dating and relationships, hell Eve had even  _ married _ a couple of times, but Kaisa was a complete neophyte. And  _ then… _

“Kaisa? You alright babe?” Ahri’s voice floated through the cubicle, cutting through Kaisa’s thoughts. A pause. “I’m out here if you wanna talk about it. She tell you to fuck off?”

“No,” Kaisa replied, relieved to find that her voice was more even than she was expecting, “Worse than that. She didn’t say anything. She just kinda floated there and just  _ looked  _ at me.”

Ahri made some kind of sad sounding cooing noise. “Aw babe, it’s okay. Here, come on out and I’ll give you a hug.” Kaisa got up and left the cubicle. Ahri was sat on the countertop with the sinks, and hopped off to walk up to Kaisa, before pulling her into a tight hug and whispering in her ear, “Don’t worry about it babe, you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

“I miss all the shots I  _ do  _ take, too,” Kaisa remarked, and felt the hug constrict into a vice grip. “Ow, okay Ahri I see your point, please let me breathe.” Kaisa gasped for air as her friend’s arms released her.

“Come on babe, let’s go back and sit down, I’ll get you another drink.”

Kaisa and Ahri returned to the table, and judging the way Akali had just jumped away from Eve, the two had probably seized the opportunity to snog again. 

“Honestly you two, I don’t know why you still play at keeping up the pretense,” Ahri said as she picked up her own drink. She drained her own glass and set it back on the table, “Especially seeing as I have the ability to sense sexual intercourse from five hundred yards away.”

“Yes, and you’d make the most fantastic helicopter parent,” Eve drawled, “But at the same time, you could just willingly dim your senses, pervert.”

Ahri’s eyes narrowed at the challenge, but she merely shrugged and walked off to the bar to get drinks. Eve fixed her gaze on Kaisa, who unconsciously squirmed slightly. 

“I tried speaking to her,” Kaisa said, shrugging her shoulders, “But she didn’t say a word to me.”

“Hmmm,” Akali said, looking over at the musician. “I think I know the woman that designed that dress, which would pin her as being Ionian. Maybe she’s new here and unfamiliar with the common tongue,” Akali’s musing was more to herself than anyone else, and before anyone could say anything, she’d left the table too. Eve and Kaisa sat there for a few minutes in companionable silence, listening to the sound of quiet conversation, clinking glasses, and the gentle melody being played on the weird instrument. Before long, Ahri returned with another round of drinks. Eve and Kaisa nodded in thanks, and Kaisa took another deep draught of her drink.

Akali returned, and Kaisa looked up at her expectantly.

“Well, how’d it go?” she asked.

“Figured it out,” Akali responded, chest puffed out proudly, “Turns out, she’s actually a mute, she physically can’t speak. She understands most of the language used here, but she’s more confident working in Ionian. Her shift ends in ten minutes, and she’s gonna come sit with us for a drink.” 

Evelynn raised an eyebrow. “How’d you learn all that so fast from someone who can’t talk?”

“Oh,” Akali waved her hand, “I know all about Ionian Spiritwhistling and she immediately reacted. Fastest way of conversing on the planet. Look, I’ll show you.” She turned her body to fully face Kaisa across the table. “Okay, so this one,” she demonstrated a fast yet complicated hand signal and a series of short whistles, “means ‘Hello, how are you?’, this one is ‘I’m well thank you, and yourself?’, and this one is ‘I’m one with the weather’, which is an Ionian euphemism for feeling a bit shit, because of the frequent storms you get on the coast. Look, now you try.”

Kaisa tried to copy the first gesture Akali had made, and she felt like she had gotten it pretty accurate. Akali merely snorted and shook her head.

“Nope, you’ve just told me you want to buy a pet frog. Your second gesture was too floaty, you gotta tighten it up a bit. Here, this is a more simple one, it means ‘You make beautiful music’.”

Kaisa tried that one, which felt a lot easier.

“Eeeh, close enough. You gotta make sure you put proper flow into it though, otherwise you can come off as being rude at best, and at worst, saying something obscene.”

Kaisa tried again, and this time Ahri snorted into her drink.

“Something I said?” Kaisa asked, feeling uncomfortable at the idea of talking without knowing the meaning.

“Well,” Ahri said, shooting a glare at Akali’s unrepentant grin “You just announced to the table that you are looking for a woman to… well we’ll say ‘put you in a compromising position’, in a restaurant. Maybe don’t try and Spiritwhistle to others without extensive tutelage.” Kaisa looked aghast.

“Akali!” she demanded, “Why would you make me say that?” Akali was merely chuckling into her drink.

“Funny.” Akali murmured. Kaisa didn’t agree.

“What if I accidentally tried to say something nice and really upset her? It’s bad enough doing all that stuff in a language I’m native to!”

“You’re right,” Akali sighed, “I’m sorry.”

They sat in companionable quiet for a few minutes, sipping their drinks. Stan came over, offering them complimentary shots of vodka. They nodded in thanks, and counted down before they all tipped their head back in unison and drained the glasses. Kaisa slammed the glass back on the table. She noticed that the music had stopped. The cute musician had left her post. Kaisa’s heart beat a little faster. She was going to sit with them soon. She was going to say something weird and mess something up. That, or her bandmates were going to do something overbearing.

“Kaisa, dear?” Kaisa looked up at Eve’s voice, to find her pointing discreetly with her thumb at the bar, which had gained a new, blue haired occupant. She’d added a cardigan over her previously exposed shoulders, and her instrument floated next to her, looking almost like an obedient dog waiting for its master to take it for a walk. Kaisa suppressed a giggle at the mental image.

The alcohol swirling around her system gave Kaisa a nudge, and she motioned that she intended to stand up. “I’m gonna talk to her properly,” she declared. 

Walking over to the bar, she caught some snippets of the barmaid’s conversation as she approached.

“-rooting for you, I’m glad you’re not letting muteness get in the way of socialising… yes, well, I know she’s famous but she’s still cute- OH hello,” the barmaid shifted uncomfortably, aware she had been caught in her conversation. Kaisa merely shrugged it off. It was nice to accidentally walk into a compliment for a change.

“Hey,” she said to the musician, sitting at the bar two stools down. Testing the waters. The musician merely beamed, waving, before showing Kaisa what looked at first glance to be a playing card from a deck on the bar. She realised that it was in fact a written message, clearly intended to be used instead of speech.

_ Hi! I’m Sona, it’s nice to meet you! :) _

“Oh! Hi Sona!” Kaisa beamed and put out her hand, signalling she wanted to shake hands. Sona extended her own hand experimentally, and they sat there for a second, playing an awkward game of copycat. The barmaid laughed.

“Oh, that means you’re supposed to shake hands, sorry Miss Kaisa, Sona is new to these parts.”

Kaisa took the initiative and grasped Sona’s hand, and shook it up and down once. Her brain immediately went into overdrive and focussed on every aspect of the woman’s hand. How warm it was, the delicate softness of her palm, her perfectly manicured nails, painted a very pale blue.

Sona plucked out two cards from her “deck”.

_ I don’t/didn’t understand. _

_ Haha! Silly me!  _

“Don’t worry about it,” Kaisa said, smiling, “When you think about it, handshaking is a pretty weird tradition, I don’t know why people do it.”

“I think it was originally started to prove that you didn’t have any melee weapons on you,” the barmaid said, returning from pulling a pint for another customer, “the idea was that you showed you were both committed to peace.” Kaisa blinked.

“Oh. Well the more you know,” she said, unsure how to respond to that tidbit of knowledge. “Hey Sona, why don’t I introduce you to the others? I don’t know if you’ve heard of us, but we’re a girl band and we’re all super friendly!” Sona beamed.

_ That would be nice! :) _

Kaisa turned to leave, and caught sight of the table she had been sat at not five minutes ago. It was empty. This told Kaisa two things. Firstly, that this evening was to become a date. Secondly, that Sona had the approval of all three bandmates. 

“On second thoughts, I guess I won’t. Looks like they bailed.” Kaisa turned back to Sona. “Looks like it’s just me.”

_ Fine by me. _

Sona flipped a second card in Kaisa’s direction, a hand drawn diagram of a winking face. Kaisa felt her face grow hot. She opted to instead focus on taking a deliberate sip of her drink, making sure not to spill any on herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sona’s eyes twinkling in the gentle light of the bar. 

Once she had taken the longest pause she could stomach before it got awkward, Kaisa forced herself back into the conversation.

“So, Sona, how long ago did you move from Ionia? Must be a big journey to come all this way.”

Sona held out her hands, almost as if asking for change. Kaisa merely looked baffled, prompting Sona to indicate she wanted Kaisa to copy. Once Kaisa’s bewildered hands were in the correct position, Sona began, weaving her hands over and under the dancer’s hands, causing her to shiver at the unexpected contact.

Sona’s hands were incredibly soft, with perfectly manicured nails painted as brilliant blue as her hair. Not that Kaisa didn’t also have her own personal beautician, but Sona was on another level. As Kaisa watched, transfixed, she slowly began to realise that Sona’s hand movements had a purpose, she was telling a story. It wasn’t anything she could consciously make sense of, but somewhere, deep down, Kaisa’s knowledge was being rewritten. Kaisa  _ understood _ exactly what Sona was telling her.

 

Sona had lived in an Ionian orphanage for as long as she could remember. She’d just turned up one day, wrapped tight in a blanket, sat in a box with only her instrument, the Etwahl, for company.

 

_ Kaisa’s heart grew heavy. She was not prepared for a tragic backstory. _

 

The orphanage had taken the girl in, calling her Sona, after the ancient Ionian text embroidered on the blanket. Even from the age of probably three years old, Sona had clearly been fiercely intelligent, if a little shy. The workers at the orphanage worked to get Sona get used to the  _ situation, in an attempt to get her to speak. But while she and the workers quickly became attached to each other, no success in hearing Sona’s voice was made. It turned out that Sona simply could not make a single sound with her voice, and in Ionia that put a black stamp on ever getting adopted. Sona grew up in the orphanage, growing used to making friends that would inevitably leave after a matter of months. _

 

_ Kaisa glanced at Sona, concerned. Sona’s eyes had welled up. _

 

_ It… it wasn’t all bad, though. Living in the orphanage for so long had the advantage of Sona feeling truly safe in her own bedroom, and she’d built up enough mutual respect with the orphanage staff that by the time she was thirteen, she was as voluntarily independent as a school graduate. She worked hard on her studies as she grew up, growing a deep passion for studying literature, and forming a close friendship with the other orphans her age. Eventually, the time came for them to leave the orphanage, and they set their sights on the mainland. Valoran City University wasn’t the best that academia had to offer, but the tall, ultramodern spire that housed most of the class rooms captured the hearts of the young Ionians, and the government funded stipend for orphans should’ve been more than enough for the five of them to survive. _

_ ‘Should’.  _

 

_ Sona’s eyebrows knitted together in frustration.  _

 

_ It wasn’t exactly anyone’s fault when they had the argument, financial troubles are enough to bring the closest of friendships to their knees. It had turned out that the government stipend had been severely lacking, and the workload required to excel in class had meant that even small jobs were out of the question. As the bank account dwindled, so too did the portions, and then the tempers. Even so, eventually a snide comment turned into an aggressive retort, and a full on  _ shouting match had broken out. Sona had been unable to do anything but stand there and watch both her heart and her friendships break simultaneously. On that evening, five became three. It took a long time for any of them to sleep soundly.

 

_ Sorry! _

_ I got carried away… _

 

Apparently the universe had seen fit to throw Sona a bone the next week. On one particularly windy day, she was wandering home from her lecture, still numb from the Big Fallout, barely seeing where she was going. A sudden gust of wind picked up, threatening to topple the slight woman. Sona tried to brace herself against the wind, but her concentration was knocked when a slightly soggy piece of paper slapped her in the face, and she toppled over. Fortunately nobody was around to laugh, and Sona gazed briefly at the paper, which was clearly a job advertisement.

 

_ Wanted: _

_ String musician to provide gentle ambiance. _

_ Must be tutored to grade 8 and have high levels of professionalism _

_ Please apply within. _

 

Sona couldn’t exactly see where was looking for a job, as the sign was clearly intended to stay attached to the relevant business, but Sona traced the path it had slapped into her from and soon came to a rest outside the Starchild Cocktail Bar. She couldn’t see anywhere the sign might’ve fallen from, but she could see that the bar wouldn’t open for another three hours. Just enough time to get home, freshen up, and come back in a cute dress with her etwahl.

 

Sona arrived just as an employee was unlocking the patrons’ door, Sona treated the girl with her cutest grin and held up a well used card.

_ Hi! I’m Sona! I am unable to vocalise, please be patient! :-) _

“Oh, hello Sona, you’re looking very lovely tonight. You’ve arrived early, is it a table for one or more?”

In response, Sona took out a notepad and pen and wrote in her neatest handwriting.

_ I’m a musician, I saw a job advert about playing music for guests and would like to demonstrate for your manager. _

In response, the other girl looked politely confused.

“Oh, I didn’t know that we were looking for anyone at the moment, I probably just missed the memo, I only work on Thursdays. Come on in anyway and I’ll get Ms. Estrela to have a word.”

 

_ Sona smiled wistfully as she wrote a quick sentence on a napkin.  _

_ ‘It’s funny, I never did find out who had been looking for the musician. _

 

Sona followed the waitress into the bar, which was dimly lit but not unpleasantly so, it reminded Sona of the late night summer parties she used to go to in Ionia. She could feel the scent of wealth hanging in the air. A lot of wealthy people came here often, her Ionian upbringing had lent itself well to detecting certain auras. The waitress indicated Sona could sit at the bar, and disappeared into the back confines of the staff area. Sona felt too anxious to sit, so she instead contented herself with playing the Etwahl. Her hands thrummed along the strings that had become oh-so-familiar, plucking deep, emotional storytelling out of the enchanted fibres that had never gone out of tune. After about a minute, Sona heard two pairs of footsteps returning from the staff area and braced herself to meet what would hopefully be her future boss.

“Well I didn’t know we were looking for a musician but I’d say we found one. What’s your name?” Ms. Estrela’s voice had the blunt yet kindly quality that Sona had found so much comfort in when confiding her fears in the Matron of her orphanage. 

“Oh, this is Sona, she said she saw an advert for a musician role and wondered if it was ours.”

Sona fumbled for her introduction card.

_ Hi! I’m Sona! I am unable to vocalise, please be patient! :-) _

Ms. Estrela looked Sona up and down, and a wide smile spread across her face.

“Pleased to meet you Sona. Well it wasn’t our advert, but I daresay it should’ve been. Your performance was so elegant, and you were just doing that to pass the time?” Sona nodded. “Well how would you like to do that as a job? You can start right now if you want to.” Sona was hesitant, and it must’ve showed on her face, as Ms. Estrela began scribbling on a piece of paper she had seemingly snatched from thin air.

“I’ll get it formally typed up during your shift, but at a glance this is what your hours and salary look like.” Sona’s eyes boggled at the figure. She could easily keep herself and her friends free from financial worries with job. Honestly she wouldn’t even mind if it meant leaving her studies, she loved music more. She resolved to try just tonight, see how it went, and discuss it with her friends.

 

Sona finished her tale, and resumed scribbling on her notepad. Kaisa blinked several times, disoriented. 

_ And the rest is history, I’ve been here for nearly three years now. We all made up in the end, but now everyone’s moved away, to pursue their careers, it’s just me and my cat, Captain Snugglefluffers- _

Kaisa tried to suppress a snort. It didn’t work. Sona and Kaisa looked at each other, both sheepish, before letting out a quiet giggle. Well, Kaisa did. Sona’s eyes twinkled in the candlelight as she gently ran a hand across the strings of her etwahl, producing a tinkling sound that sounded like laughter. 

_ That’s the one advantage of being mute, I never have to vocalise that name.  _

Kaisa laughed again, and looked back into Sona’s eyes, before realising what she had just done and looking away awkwardly. She took a swig of her drink to have something to do, and drained the glass. When she set the drink down she saw Sona’s mirthful expression, and as she tilted her head in confusion she was suddenly aware of a slight pressure on her free hand, which turned out to not be free at all. How long had they sat there holding hands? 

 

Here Kaisa was faced with a conundrum. Did she pull her hand back because she was embarrassed? But that would make it seem like she wasn’t comfortable with holding hands with Sona, which wasn’t true. Sona was absolutely stunning, and Kaisa deeply hoped that she would be able to hold hands again at some point in the future. But she was also keenly aware of how sweaty her hand was getting and-

Sona merely sat there, bemused, watching Kaisa grow steadily redder and redder. They could’ve sat there for ages, if not for the sudden gurgling of Sona’s stomach. Her eyes boggled and her hands flew up to her face.

_ I am sorry. _

Kaisa smiled and shook her head.

“It’s fine. When was the last time you ate?” Sona considered this and slowly put up six fingers, two on one hand and four on the other. The meaning was clear, twenty-four hours ago. Kaisa smiled sadly, she knew all too well how empty Sona’s stomach must be feeling at this point. “Wanna go and get a bite to eat somewhere? It’d do you good to spend some time away from work.” Sona smiled and fished out another card. She presented it to Kaisa, who inspected it. It was a cute looking café that was open all night, and just a few blocks away. She handed it back to Sona with an affirming nod, who pointed at the staff area and mimed putting a coat on. She got up and left, giving Kaisa a couple of seconds to check her phone. She’d felt the familiar buzz of the group chat a couple of times and hoped no one had said anything lewd. 

 

_ POP/STARZZZZZZ xxoxoxox _

 

_ From sxeefox: 22:50 _

_ GOOD LUCK KAISA xxxxxxxxxxx _

 

_ From RapGOD: 22:50 _

_ She’s hella cute, go get her Bokkie <3 _

 

_ From Evelynn: 22:51 _

_ Best of luck, Kaisa. If she turns out to be an arsehole give me her address and I’ll fix her. _

 

_ From sxeefox: 22:52 _

_ Omg eve dont. _

 

_ From sxeefox: 23:23 _

_ Come on hurry up with the shower whoevers in  _

 

_ From sxeefox: 23:30 _

_ OMG FFS GUYS I AM STILL HERE YOU KNOW!!! _

 

Kaisa rolled her eyes as she pocketed her phone again just in time to see Sona return, coat and bag in tow.

“Ready to go?” Kaisa asked, getting a nod in response. “Lead the way.”

 

They stepped outside, feeling the chill of the early spring air nip at their faces. It had rained earlier, giving the city streets a pleasant sheen. Sona, who stood a couple of inches shorter than Kaisa, held her arm out. Kaisa hesitated. Were they at that point already? Sona was clearly into her, but surely there were conventions for that sort of thing?

_ Fuck conventional.  _ The little Akali in Kaisa’s head said.  _ If everyone always worked via convention, we’d never have been popular in the first place.  _ Kaisa smirked to herself. She laced her arm around Sona’s.

As they walked down the brightly illuminated high street, Kaisa chatted a bit about her own life. Where she had come from, where she had lived, what she had done. She was wary of giving too many details, she was far too conscious of giving specifics, just in case a member of the paparazzi was lurking nearby. She was not ashamed of her past, but there were those in the media who would try and use it to damn her anyway. As it was, she was content to treat them to the sight of her successfully landing a date with the most stunning woman she had laid her eyes on. Her head was beginning to fog up as the alcohol in her stomach worked its way into her bloodstream, which was annoying as Kaisa was desperate to sober up and secure date  _ número dos. _

Suddenly, Kaisa heard a gasp from her left and started, only to find Sona pointing up at the sky with an expression of sheer awe on her face. Kaisa looked up just in time to see a particularly bright shooting star fizzle out of existence. 

“Oh wow,” Kaisa whistled, “That’s so beautiful. Did you make a wish?” Sona nodded. She stepped around to stand directly in front of Kaisa. Kaisa froze, why was Sona standing so close-  _ oh. _ Sona had fearlessly stepped forwards to peck Kaisa on the lips. Every nerve in Kaisa’s face exploded at the kiss. Her heart rate doubled. They stood there for a moment, just two women holding hands in the city. Kaisa didn’t dare to speak, lest her voice betray her. Sona grinned at Kaisa’s silence, content to watch the hopeless lesbian internally combust at her actions. Kaisa’s situation wasn’t helped by the fact that she had just realised that Sona had left the front of her coat undone, and it wasn’t like Sona’s dress was  _ boring _ to look at. 

Sona pulled Kaisa along again, and this time she had clearly decided that linking arms was insufficient, as she had laced her hand around Kaisa’s fingers. Kaisa deeply hoped her hands weren’t sweaty, but it didn’t seem like it would’ve mattered anyway. She was being outmaneuvered left right and centre by Sona’s relentless flirting. She needed to do something cool, to show without words how she was into Sona.

“Hey Sona, wanna see me dance?” Kaisa said, slurring slightly. Sona raised her eyebrow as she watched, amused. Kaisa skipped forward and twirled in front of Sona, before leaping to the side… Directly into a puddle.

“Aiiiieee!” Kaisa yelped as cold water immersed her up to her ankles. A fool. A damned fool. She should just submit to destiny and accept her fate as The Less Flirty One. Sona rolled her eyes and pointed just over Kaisa’s shoulder. Wheeling round, Kaisa observed she had made a fool of herself not fifteen metres away from the café Sona had picked out. 

The café was brightly lit, but not unpleasantly so, and decorated to the brim with trinkets and items from around the world. Kaisa noted a visitors flag from her own hometown. There were only four other patrons in the café, murmuring quiet conversations over plates of food that looked absolutely divine. Sona indicated a long table at the window. They sat down, looking out at the brightly lit shop signs of the road they had just walked down. A waitress came to them after a couple of minutes spent watching a gaggle of teenagers playing chicken around the puddle Kaisa had just ‘discovered’.

“Good evening ladies, what can I get for you this eve-” Her eyes widened as she realised who was sitting next to Sona. “-ning? We’ve got a special tonight of slow cooked curry, two for one.” Sona put two thumbs up. Kaisa nodded along. Curry sounded good.

“Two for us then, and uh, do you have a heater I could borrow?” Kaisa indicated her wet feet, which were dripping gently onto the laminate flooring, “I, uh, found a puddle.” The waitress giggled in response.

“Of course,” she said, before lowering her voice considerably, “Don’t worry, no one here will sell your evening meal patronage to the papers.”

Kaisa let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. It wasn’t entirely comforting, knowing that randomers felt the need to profess their protection, but it was nice to know this waitress had her back.

The waitress went back behind the counter, leaving Sona and Kaisa alone together again. They went back to people watching for a while, enjoying each other’s companionable silence. The waitress came back with a heater and a couple of glasses of water, before ducking back into the kitchen. Kaisa ducked under the table to sort out setting her shoes to dry, and when she sat back up she became keenly aware of Sona’s hand, resting on the table. Kaisa’s mouth became dry. Was this an invitation to hold hands? Should she ask? Or was this something you could just  _ do _ ? Kaisa swallowed her nerves along with a hearty gulp of water. She decided to bite the bullet and slide her hand onto Sona’s. Their eyes met. Sona beamed at her, and that was all the approval she needed.

It seemed a pretty dead cert. Kaisa  _ liked _ Sona, and she was pretty sure Sona  _ liked _ her back. As if on cue, Sona had apparently decided to confirm this, as she slid Kaisa a card, which featured eleven digits, a doodle of a winking face, and finally, a big heart.


End file.
